Should I be alarmed if my waist size is over 34in?

[TapeMeasureBlues]

I just went on to the NHS website to check my BMI but saw text below on the webpage about waist sizes above 31.5in_ (in women) needing to lose weight (regardless of BMI) and being at 'very high risk' if it's over 34in_.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/
I've pasted the text below my post.

My BMI is fine at 22.2, I'm 5'6 and 63 kg, I'm late 30s, a size 10ish but usually need 14 in jeans. I've got kids but the youngest is 3 and always have a pregnant ish looking belly which has been making me miserable as I look totally out of proportion and lots of clothes look awful on me.

I've been doing core/cardio exercises for the past year or so (only 2-3 times a week) and pilates. My core is definitely stronger but nothing looks tightened up, presumably because I'm not losing any weight - this wasn't particularly my intention. I generally eat healthily ish from scratch, but probably too much. (NB I'm not particularly looking for diet/exercise tips with this post).

Anyway, depending on where I measure my waist it varies from 31.5in at the smallest, up to around 36-37in at the largest (this is around the 'spare tyre' bit including hips just above my belly button). Is this really worrying? Am I really at risk from heart disease etc? 31.5inches seems very small to me, for the average woman, yet anything above this should mean losing weight?

I'm going to go to a GP when I can and when I've had my vaccine.

Would be interested to hear if anyone else has done this (do they investigate anything or just tell you to lose weight?) and also nosily would be interested in what others' waist size is, when following the instructions below...

I think I recall reading this some time ago and being briefly worried but assuming it was still post-baby stretched tummy that would go back to normal once I started exercising a bit.

From the NHS site:

Why waist size also matters

Measuring your waist is a good way to check you're not carrying too much fat around your stomach, which can raise your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

You can have a healthy BMI and still have excess tummy fat, meaning you're still at risk of developing these conditions.

To measure your waist:

Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips.
Wrap a tape measure around your waist midway between these points.
Breathe out naturally before taking the measurement.

Regardless of your height or BMI, you should try to lose weight if your waist is:

94cm (37ins) or more for men
80cm (31.5ins) or more for women

You're at very high risk and should contact a GP if your waist is:

102cm (40ins) or more for men
88cm (34ins) or more for women

The last sentence answers your question i guess?

Incidentslly my BMI is about 24 I think (definitely "healthy range") and my waist measurement 87cm.

I think a trip to your GP is a good idea, explain that you exercise regularly. Your BMI sounds fine but it depends on your build. If you're of a small build then maybe you need to lose a few pounds.

We can only guess, speak to your GP and they'll be able to advise.

I've often wondered about this. I mean, I'm about a foot taller than my best friend, is it really case that regardless if that we'd have the same target maximum waist circumference??

But i guess there's no harm in a general health MOT if you're able!

@Gettingthereslowly2020

I think a trip to your GP is a good idea, explain that you exercise regularly. Your BMI sounds fine but it depends on your build. If you're of a small build then maybe you need to lose a few pounds.

We can only guess, speak to your GP and they'll be able to advise.

I was always very skinny when younger, I have a small frame so any excess weight looks quite weird on me I think. It's just all around my middle and just starts sticking out as if I'm still pregnant.

I also have major belly bloat. Otherwise a healthy weight, no matter what I eat/exercise it doesn't go.

God, I’m quite slim (BMI of 20.8) and my waist is 29 1/2 inches. I’m 50. I was feeling quite healthy but now feel like I’m only one big dinner away from death.

elsa would you feel like you should go to the GP about it having read the NHS stuff? Is there any chance something else could be causing the bloat do you think?

I’m exactly your weight and height and my waist is 28.75”.
I’d definitely see your GP who can help whether the extra inches are due to digestive issues/ bloating, abdominal fat or something else.

So your waist is actually 31.5, which isn’t that worrying (compared perhaps to 34)

It's not hugely clear from the instructions where you're meant to measure!
The other thing is, I can 'suck it in' so my stomach is almost flat (wobbly, but more vertical!) and then the measurement is more like 34-35 ins at the bigger part. Obviously I assume you're not meant to do that but interested to know about others' tummies (yeah that sounds weird) - is it usual to be able to suck in that much?

The friends I see in real life are tiny in comparison so haven't got anyone similar to compare to.

I've never really lost weight or changed weight dramatically (except for pregnancy) - I've either maintained it or it's crept on very slowly. I didn't even own scales until about a year ago.

Sounds like it could be diastasis recti. Have a google and you can find how to check..if it is, your core exercises will actually be making it worse.

Purple thanks - I did wonder about that, but got it looked at some time ago by a GP who said there was only a slight separation and then virtually by the Pilates person but that was reliant on me not being able to feel anything!

It looks so bad at the end of the day (ie now) I feel like I need someone to tell me it's just fat or if there's something else.

Even a slight separation can cause the stomach to stick out and give the still pregnant look, and if you have been doing core exercises you could have unknowingly made it bigger. Even little stuff like getting out of bed incorrectly puts pressure on the gap. I would try and see yourself again (best way is to lay down, then pull your head and neck up as if you are about to do a sit up but stop half way. If you see a little hill shaped bulge, that’s a separation), or book with a different GP; lots are not clued up on ab separation unfortunately. There are private post natal specialists around who would have understanding of it, maybe see if you can find one if your area.

It's difficult for women as waist size can vary wildly depending on whether you've had children/c section, or if it's an underlying issue. I haven't had children but I'm your height and weight and my waist is 26. I carry all my weight on my arse though

Loosely speaking the reason that it can be concerning is that it indicates you are carrying excess fat around your organs which can lead to trouble down the line. If it were me I would go to GP just to rule anything out.

There's a tool on here where you can assess waist size versus height - as a rough idea it says to keep your waist size to less than half your height: qz.com/1002707/bmi-calculators-arent-accurate-but-our-body-fat-calculator-is/

You say yourself that the smallest bit is 31.5 which is quite a long way from 34 inches so you sound fine.

This happened to me after my second. I'm 5ft 8 and half weigh 62kg but my waist after kids is 30/31 when it was 27 at this same weight before kids. As some one else said even the tiniest bit of muscle separation and your stomach sticks out. You could get checked out and take it from there. I thought I'd so exercises but not that bothered but there is stuff you can do that will help a bit if it bothers you on a aesthetic level.

Watching this with interest. I've always been apple shaped & although tummy doesn't look too bad in the morning, sometimes in the evening it's huge. I was also alarmed that it can measure up to 36 inches..unless I suck it in.

Other than that, I'm 5ft 4, size 10-12 & BMI is about 25. I know I need to shift about a stone but even when I was a size 8, I still struggled to do jeans up.

Op, I am exactly the same, apart from being shorter (so probably look worse!). Put on a lot of weight in two pregnancies and had very bad diastasis recti plus now have terrible pouch / overhang from two c sections. I have lost most of the weight but currently upper end of healthy BMi so still a stone heavier than my ideal. However my issue is the stomach area, just like you I have an approx 30 inch waist but my belly area fluctuates between 35-37 (!) inches. I was told after my youngest was born three years ago I had resolved the diastasis recti through Pilates. Due to other health issues I have barely exercised for some time so maybe some of it for me is diabolically bad core strength. I am hoping to see the GP soon to discuss possible IBS as I have been having horrible issues with gut discomfort and bloating but there's no denying it's not just bloating and I have a real "belly" too. It's a nightmare for clothes because most of my body fits a 12 but my belly needs at least a size 16. Jeans are agony, even tights and some leggings don't feel comfortable. I feel miserable every day and I don't feel the benefit of having lost over two stone because my stomach is so huge and problematic. I'm hoping the GP will help me find what's going on (I want to lose another 1-1.5 stone but I suspect I'll still have a disproportionately big belly to waist).

OP I could be you. 5’ 4”, 59kg and BMI 22. But my waist is 33 inches, if I’m measuring correctly.

It’s infuriating after losing two stones and getting well into the healthy BMI range to read that I’m close to needing to see the doctor about my belly fat!

@Itstoobig - unless you were doing very specially modified Pilates with a diastitis recti professional, then Pilates would have made it worse. It’s one of the worst things for DR as it is constantly straining the gap. Google exercises to heal it, they seem very basic (and are pretty boring!) but they are the only thing that will fix it apart from surgery. There are breathing techniques that need to be mastered as well to activate the right muscles - seems so overwhelming at first but you will get the hang of it. I know I sound like I’m going on, but we are so behind the times with body post natal care, DR and pelvic issues here, it’s just not understood or taken seriously enough and so many women think a belly pouch, urination leaking, back pain etc is just the norm after having children.

Thanks for everyone's posts, it's appreciated!
My last child was born by C-section so there is a bit of that.

The 31.5 in measurement is at the absolute smallest and I don't think that's where they mean - it's right under my ribs. The biggest is in line with my belly button and that's also where my hips suddenly stick out - really like a spare tyre!

Definitely worse in the evening than the morning too - and drinking tea several times a day always seems to make it worse so there must be some 'water retention'. The bloat isn't hard particularly so I think less likely to be gas or anything.

The hip flab makes it clear that at least some of the problem is flab. I'm just reluctant to change my diet massively but will try a bit of smaller portions to start off with.

itstoobig yes that sounds really similar! and thanks purple for the DR info - I had indeed looked up exercises for it but they seemed very basic. The breathing techniques sounds very interesting - I do feel there's a big link from this to my breathing. When I properly breathe fully and don't hold my stomach in my belly is enormous. I had some shortness of breath a couple of winters ago, presumably just a cough that hung around. I had a chest scan (I'm usually pretty healthy) and that was all ok. That was what motivated me to improve my fitness anyway. But I have thought that breathing techniques is something to look into.

Thanks purple, I did specialised post-natal Pilates aimed at helping issues such as diastasis recti and then did several months of clinical Pilates to help with some other problems and assumed (quite possibly wrongly) that as the instructor knew my history it would all be fine! Perhaps I was naive about that and ought to get it properly assessed, as the specialist physio I saw during my second pregnancy said it was so bad it was likely it would need surgery. I was so pleased to be told it was mostly gone!

I’ve just got my tape measure out and am a bit horrified that my waist measurement is bang on 80cm which means I should try to lose weight. I’m 5’11 and ten and a half stone. If I lose weight it will come straight off my boobsand shoulders which are already super scrawny.

I don’t have a flat tummy and when I do put on weight that’s where it goes straight away, but no one would ever say I’m anywhere near fat. I’m between a size ten and twelve and yet this link is suggesting I need to lose weight for health reasons. It seems ridiculous but it’s the nhs website. Not sure what to think